Device for adjusting window to out-of-square frame



June 9, 1959 DEVICE FOR ADJUSTING WINDOW TO OUT-OF-SQUARE FRAME Filed Feb. 21. 1958 G. D. PETERSON 2,889,589

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR. 655410 0. 8027950 June 9, 1959 G; D. PETERSON 2,889,589

DEVICE FOR ADJUSTING WINDOW TO OUT-OF-SQUARE FRAME Fil ed Feb. 21, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR.

MM. gawk Dz AT/O/F/I/[if appearance of the window.

2,889,589 Patented June 9, 1959 DEVICE FOR ADJUSTING WINDOW T OUT-OF-SQUARE F Gerald 1). Peterson, Ferndale, Mich. Application February 21, 1958, Serial No. 716,813

8 Claims. (Cl. 29-52) This invention relates in general to window construction including a horizontally sliding sash and, more particularly, to support structure for such sash by which the sash can be adjusted to fit and completely close an out-of-square frame with which said sash is used.

One type of window construction, which is widely used in high-grade residential and institutional buildings, has a horizontally sliding sash and a support structure underneath said sash for supporting and guiding same in its horizontal movement. Such window constructions normally comprise a completed and self-supporting frame structure within which the sash is mounted. The structure by which the sash is supported for horizontal movement is normally a horizontally positioned rail on the lower horizontal frame member together with rollers on the under side of the sash arranged for engaging the rail.

It sometimes happens in the manufacture and/ or shipment of these windows from the factory to the job site that the frame will be moved slightly from its normal and desired rectangular condition into a somewhat outof-square shape which defines a non-rectangular parallelogram. While this out-of square condition can readily be corrected by the builder when the window frame is installed into a building, such correction frequently is not made. This may be because the condition is not noticed or it may be because of carelessness. In other cases, it sometimes happens that the out-of-square condition develops during the installation step by reason of irregularities, including the forming of an out-of-square window opening, in the masonry or other structure within which the window frame fits. Regardless of the reason, however, it is apparent that once the window frame is installed, particularly in a masonry building, in an outof-square condition, it is then virtually impossible to correct this condition.

Since the sash will not assume a corresponding out-ofsquare condition, the sash will fail to fit snugly against the vertical end members of the frame. This results in an unsightly appearance and possibly a leaking window, neither of which can be corrected within economic limits.

Even though the cause for this condition is beyond control of the window manufacturer where it has originated in the installation step, the manufacturer is usually charged with responsibility for the unsightly Inasmuch as the unsightly appearance results from the failure of the window frame and sash to match, it is desirable for the window manufacturer to incorporate into his window means by which the sash can be adjusted to the frame to compensate for the out-of-square condition of the frame and close in a manner which will not reveal the irregularity.

This problem has been previously recognized and prior attempts have been made to overcome it, as shown in Patent No. 2,668,318. However, the previous structure for-this purpose is relatively expensive and somewhat awkward to use. Therefore, it has not fully met the requirements of the condition under consideration and further improvement has been needed by the industry.

Accordingly, a major object of the invention is to provide a horizontally sliding window construction having a sash support structure by which the sliding sash may be adjusted in its closed position with respect to the frame to effect a snug fitting of the sash stile against the side element of the frame in order to compensate for a slight out-of-square condition in the frame.

A further object of the invention is to provide a window construction, as aforesaid, by which said sash stile and said frame element are automatically brought into parallelism with each other as the sliding sash moves into closed position.

A further object of the invention is to provide window construction, as aforesaid, in which the necessary adjustment of the sash with the frame can be readily made after the installation of a Window into a building and, when once made, will remain permanently in adjusted position.

A further object of the invention is to provide window construction, as aforesaid, wherein said adjustment will not materially change the operating characteristics of the window and wherin such changes as do occur will normally be so slight as not to be noticed by the user and, in fact, will actually assist in holding the window in closed position.

A further object of the invention has been to provide window construction, as aforesaid, wherein the abovementioned adjusting features can be provided at a minimum of expense, without weakening or otherwise damaging the window structure, and without materially aifecting the appearance of the window.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a sash adjusting structure, as aforesaid, which can be furnished as standard equipment with all such windows, which is embodied in the frame sill structure and can, therefore, be adapted to a variety of different specific window constructions presently available, and which is very easy to adjust without special tools and by any person capable of installing a window frame.

Other objects and purposes of the invention will be apparent to persons acquainted with constructions of this general type upon reading the following specification and inspecting the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is an elevational view of a window construction embodying the invention and as appearing from the outside of a building in which it is installed.

Figure 2 is a broken sectional view taken along the line II1I of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along the line III-III of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a sectional view substantially as taken along the line IVIV of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a fragment of Figure 4 showing a different operating position.

Figure 6 is an enlarged fragment of Figure 5.

Figure 7 is a top plan view of the structure appearing in Figure 6.

Figure 8 is a fragment of Figure 4 showing alternate structure in the adjusting mechanism therefor.

Figure 9 is a fragment of Figure 4 showing a further modification in the sash supporting structure thereof.

Figure 10 is a sectional view taken along the line XX of Figure 9.

General description The invention comprises a sill structure for a window unit including a frame and a horizontally movable sash within said frame. The frame sill has an upstanding track and said sash has a pair of spaced rollers on its lower rail which engage said track for supporting the sash. In one form of the invention, said track has means for effecting a depression therein beneath one of said rollers when the sash is in the closed position. This will tilt the sash slightly with respect to the frame and bring the sash stile into alignment With the adjacent jamb element of an out-of-square frame.

Alternatively, the entire track upon which the sash is supported may be adjustably mounted for tilting the sash toward or away from the adjacent jamb element of the frame, when the window is in closed position, and the frame is in an out-of-square condition in either direction.

Detailed construction As shown in Figure 1, the window construction 10, which has been selected to illustrate one embodiment of the invention, is comprised of a frame 11, which is capable of being installed in a substantially conventional wall structure 12, and the fixed and movable sashes 13 and 14, respectively, supported within said frame 11. In its broader aspects, the window construction is generally similar to the horizontally sliding window construction disclosed in my Patent No. 2,663,917. More specifically, the frame 11 is comprised of a header 16, sill 17 and a pair of jamb elements 18 and 19. The fixed sash 13 and a screen unit 21 are mounted within the exterior portion of the frame 11 in substantially coplanar relationship, as shown in Figure 2, and are separated by a mullion 22. The movable sash 14 is disposed, when in the closed position, on the interior side of the screen unit 21 and is movable along the sill 17 into the open position on the interior side of the fixed sash 13.

The movable sash 14 (Figure 1) has an upper rail 25, a lower rail 26 and a pair of stiles 27 and 28. A pair of sash supporting rollers 30 and 31 (Figure 2) are rotatably supported by means of shafts 32 and 33, respectively, within the lower ends of the stiles 27 and 28. Said rollers engage the upper edge of the track 34 which extends upwardly from, and lengthwise of, the sill 17 near the interior edge thereof. The track 34 is fixed with respect to the sill 17, but at least portions of said track may be movable or replaceable in a manner, and for reasons, appearing hereinafter.

The lower rail 26 (Figure 3) of the movable sash 14 is provided with a lengthwise, downwardly opening, groove 36 which extends through the lower adjacent ends of the stiles 27 and 28 for reception of the track 34. A channel shaped sealing element 37 is disposed within the groove 36 for snugly, but slidably, engaging the opposite sides of the track 34 to prevent the passage of air between the sill 17 and the lower rail 26. A resilient sealing element 38 is secured to, and extends downwardly from, and along, the lower edge of the lower rail 26 near the exterior side thereof for slidable engagement with the sill 17.

The track 34 has a pair of sash adjusting mechanisms 40 (Figure 5) and 41 (Figures 6 and 7) which are preferably similar and which are engageable with the rollers .30 and 31, respectively, when the movable sash 14 is in its closed position (Figures 1 and 2). The adjustment mechanism 41 is provided by removing an elongated portion of the track 34 to create an elongated recess 42 near the rightward or closing end of said track. The wall 43, which defines the lower edge of the recess 42, slopes slightly downwardly toward the end element 19. An elongated bridge element 44 is disposed almost entirely within the recess 43 and is pivotally supported by means of the pivot pin 46 upon that portion of the track 34 adjacent to the narrow or leftward, end of the recess 42. Accordingly, the bridge element 44 is pivotally movable between a position where its upper edge 47 is aligned with the upper edge of the track 34 and a lower position 44a (Figure 6) Where said upper edge 47 slopes downwardly toward said end element 19. The bridge element 44 has a threaded opening 49 in the lower edge thereof, into which an adjustment screw 48 is threadedly received, said screw being engageable with the lower wall 43 of the recess 42. The adjustment of the element 44 4. within the recess 42 is easily and accurately controlled by the screw 48.

The adjustment mechanism 40 may be substantially identical to the adjustment mechanism 41. Specifically, it includes a bridge element 51 disposed within a recess 52 (Figure 4). Said element 40 is pivotally supported at one end upon the track 34 adjacent to said recess 52, and is movable into a position (Figure 5) sloping downwardly toward said rightward end element 19. An adjustment screw 53 is provided for positioning the element 51 within the recess 52.

The bridge elements 44 and 51 are pivoted at their leftward ends, as appearing in Figure 4, in order to facilitate movement of the movable sash 14 into and out of its closed position. It will be observed that the adjustment mechanism 41, which is operable with the roller 31 at the rightward edge of the movable sash 14, provides for a rightward tilting of the movable sash 14 toward the right jamb element 19. In a similar manner, the bridge element 51, which is operable with the roller 30, permits a leftward tilting of the movable sash 14 away from the right jamb element 19.

Operation Under normal circumstances, the frame 11 of the window construction 10 is installed in a wall structure 12 at the time that such wall structure is being built. If an out-of-square condition is then detected between the movable sash and the frame when the movable sash is in its closed position, the unsightly lack of parallelism between the sash parts and the correspondingly adjacent frame part, resulting from this condition can, by the present invention, be readily eliminated.

To accomplish this, the movable sash 14 can be easily and quickly adapted to an out-of-square frame by adjusting one or the other of the adjustment mechanisms 40 and 41. In the event that the frame 11 leans rightwardly (rightwardly being taken with reference to Figure l) the closing position of the movable sash 14 is adjusted by means of the rightward adjustment mecha nism 41. More specifically, the sash 14 is moved away from the jamb element 19 until the bridge element 44 can be pivoted upwardly to expose the adjustment screw 18. Said screw 48 is adjusted upwardly into the opening 49 in said element 44, after which said element 44 is pivoted back into the recess 42, where it assumes a lower position than it had before the adjustment. The movable sash is now returned to the closed position, where the lower position of the element 44 causes the sash 14 to tilt toward the jamb element 19, and therefore lie in parallelism with the frame element 19. If the stile 28 is not yet parallel with the jamb 19, further adjustments are made as needed.

Where the frame 11 is tilted leftwardly, or in the opposite direction from that above discussed, the adjustment mechanism 40 (Figure 4) is utilized to lower the left ward end of the sash 14, as shown in Figure 5, until the stile 28 is parallel with the jamb element 19, when the movable sash 14 is in the closed position of Figure 1.

Alternate structures Either or both of the adjustment mechanisms 40 and 41 of Figure 4 may be replaced by the alternate adjustment mechanism 56, shown in Figure 8. Said mechanism 56 is comprised of a recess 57 in the track 58 on the sill 59, which recess is partially or completely filled with an insert 61, the upper edge 62 of which may be aligned with the remainder of the track 58 where no adjustment is necessary as indicated at 62a or it may be sloped as desired. The amount of slope defined by the edge 62 controls the tilt of the sash used with the alternate adjustment mechanism 56 and such block may be replaced with other corresponding blocks when and as needed to obtain a given desired slope. Alternately, the block 61 may be made of an easily worked material, such as wood, furnished by the window manufacturer of such size as to define'the ali'gned'edge'62a and then maybe cut to the desired slope at the time of installation, if needed, by the installation personnel. The insert 61 is secured with respect to the track 58 by means of the screws 63.

The alternate sill structure 66, shown in Figures 9 and 10, includes an integral channel 67 running lengthwise of the sill 70 and defining an upwardly opening groove 68. An elongated track member 69 is vertically adjustably disposed within the groove 68 and projects therefrom above the upper surface of the sill 70 for engagement by the rollers 71 mounted upon and supporting the sash 72. The channel structure 67 has one or more substantially horizontal, threaded openings 73 through its exterior side wall 74 in which a screw 76 is threadedly received for engaging the track member 69 and holding it firmly and immovably against the interior wall 77 of said channel structure 67. The outer end of each screw 76 is accessible through an opening 81 in said sill 70 for manual adjustment. Accordingly, the position of the sash 72 with respect to the jamb element 78 of its supporting frame may be easily adjusted by loosening the screws 76 and then adjusting, as by raising or lowering the desired end of the track member 69 with respect to the sill 70 until the proper alignment has been attained, .after which the screws 76 are then firmly tightened against the track member 69.

The alternate sill structure 66 (Figures 9 and 10) is advantageous in that the movable sash 71, supported by the track member 69 always remains at a substantially constant distance from, and with respect to the upper edge of, said track member 69. The adjustment mechanisms 40 and 41 (Figure 4) are advantageous in that they hold the movable sash 14 at a substantially constant distance from the sill 17 until just before the closing position is reached. Thus, there is no protracted and excessive dragging between the sealing element 38 and the sill 17 at one end of the track and/ or a corresponding air gap between them at the other end of the track, which can occur where the track is gradually sloped to the sill. This advantage also applies to the alternate adjustment mechanism 56 of Figure 8.

If the amount of adjustment required is relatively small, as it usually is, the resultant downward movement of the rightward end of the sash with respect to the track 34 serves a further useful purpose by tending to hold the sash 14 in a closed position.

Although particular preferred embodiments of the invention have been disclosed hereinabove for illustrative purposes, it will be understood that variations or modifications of such disclosure, which do not depart from the scope of the appended claims, are fully contemplated.

I claim:

1. In a window construction including a frame having a sill, a header and a pair of jambs extending upwardly from said sill and including at least one sash horizontally movable along said sill toward and away from a closed position adjacent to one of said jambs, structure for supporting said sash upon said sill and aligning said sash with said one jamb of an out-of-square frame, comprising: a sash supporting track extending along said sill between said jambs, at least one end of that portion of said track, which is occupied by said sash when in said closed position, being adjustable with respect to said sill and with respect to the other end of said portion of said track in a direction substantially parallel with the lengthwise extent of said jambs; spaced track engaging members mounted upon said sash near the lower edge thereof for sash supporting engagement with said track, one of said members being engageable with said portion of said track with said sash is in said closed position and the other of said members being at such time engageable with said other end of said portion; and means associated with said portion of said track for holding said portion in a vertically selected position with respect to said sill, whereby said sash is aligned with said one jamb.

- 2; In a window construction includinga frame having a sill, a header and a pair of jambs extending upwardly from said sill and including a fixed sash and at least one sash horizontally movable along said sill towardand away from a closed position adjacent to one of said jambs, structure for supporting said sash upon said sill and aligning said sash with said one jamb of an out-ofsquare frame, comprising: a sash engaging track supported upon said sill and extending substantially between said jambs and along one side of said fixed sash, at least a portion of said track being adjustable toward and away from said sill in a substantially vertical direction; a pair of rollers rotatably supported upon said movable sash near the opposite ends of the lower rail thereof for sash supporting engagement with said track, one of said rollers being engageable with said portion of said track when said movable sash is in the closed position; and means for holding said portion in a preselected position with respect to said sill.

3. The structure of claim 2 wherein said track has two spaced portions which are movable both with respect to said sill and the remainder of said track in substantially a vertical direction, said portions being respectively engageable by said rollers when said movable sash is in said closed position.

4. In a window construction including a frame having a sill, a header and a pair of jambs extending upwardly from said sill and including at least one sash horizontally movable along sm'd sill toward and away from a closed position adjacent to one of said jambs, structure for supporting said sash upon said sill and aligning said sash with said one jamb of an out-of-square frame, comprising: a track projecting upwardly from, and extending along, said sill between said jambs, said track having at least one elongated recess in the upper edge thereof; an elongated element disposed within said recess, the upper edge thereof sloping downwardly toward said one jamb from a point adjacent to, and substantially aligned with, the upper edge of said track; and a pair of rollers rotatably supported upon said sash near the opposite ends of the lower rail thereof for sash supporting engagement with said track, one of said rollers being engageable with said element near the lower end thereof when said sash is in said closed position.

5. The structure of claim 4 wherein said element is pivotally secured near its upper end upon the adjacent portion of said track, and wherein manually adjustable means is secured to one of said element and the wall of said recess for controlling the position of the said element within said recess.

6. In a window construction including a frame having a sill, a header and a pair of jambs extending upwardly from said sill and including at least one sash horizontally movable along said sill toward and away from a closed position adjacent to one of said jambs, structure for supporting said sash upon said sill and aligning said sash with said one jamb of an out-of-square frame, comprising: means defining an elongated lengthwise groove in said sill extending substantially between said jambs; an elongated track member snugly disposed within said groove and projecting above the upper surface of said sill; manually operable means releasably holding said member within said groove in a substantially fixed position with respect to said sill, said member being capable of sloping toward and away from said one jamb while being held with respect to said sill; and roller means rotatably supported upon said sash along the lower rail thereof for sash supporting engagement with said track.

7. In a window construction including a frame having a sill, a header and a pair of jambs extending upwardly from said sill and including at least one sash horizontally movable along said sill toward and away from a closed position adjacent to one of said jambs, structure for supporting said sash upon said sill and aligning said sash with said one jamb of an out-of-square frame, comprisingz a sash supporting track extending along said sill between said jambs and having an edge portion engaged by 'said sash when in said closed position, at least one part of said edge portion being substantially vertically adjustable with respect to said sill, said one jamb and the other part of said edge portion of said track; spaced track engaging members mounted upon said sash near the lower edge thereof for sash supporting engagement with said track, one of said members being engageable With said one part of said edge portion of said track when said sash is in said closed position and the other of said members being at such time engageable with said other part of said edge portion; and screw means associated with said one part of said edge portion for holding at least said one part in a vertically selected position, whereby said sash 15 is aligned with said one jamb.

8. The structure of claim 2 wherein said portion of said track is an elongated edge element and said track includes an elongated base structure supporting said edge element, said rollers be ng engaged With said edge element and said base structure being secured to said sill; and wherein said means for holding said portion in a preselected position includes screw means releasably securing said edge element With respect to said base structure, whereby said edge element can be adjusted with. respect 10 to said sill.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 797,031 Vivian Aug. 15, 1905 

